Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 165 pages

"Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires. And he enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs or the joy of watching pages consumed by flames, never question anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then Guy met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. And Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do..." -Jacket

I have a list that contains books every home library should have and I'm slowly working on getting those books and reading/re-reading them. I haven't read Fahrenheit 451 in years and I was reminded this time of just how much I love it and how timeless its message is. It's beautifully written. Ray Bradbury has such a way with words and story-telling.

The message of this book is not only timeless, it becomes more and more relevant as time goes on. In a recent interview with the author, included at the end of the book, he talks about idiot TV and how movies and commercials are so fast-paced these days that they take away our ability to think as image after image is flashed at us. He referenced a movie that had 4,560 half-second clips in it. The camera never held still. He talked about how that "clicks off your thinking." That's exactly how I felt after watching Transformers. I loved the movie, but it was sensory overload. Immediately after I finished this book I watched a commercial that did exactly that - flash from one image to another in a half-second. It was very difficult to try to think through it.

The thing I took away from this book this time is the need for quiet and reflection, but more importantly the need for independent thought. It's written in a future world, but it's not so different from ours. This book is a good wake-up call, a call to think for ourselves, to express our ideas and opinions, and to not let government or news force feed us our opinions.

I love so many things about this book. I love Clarisse. She is such a ray of light. You can sense her joy at walking in the rain or smelling the flowers. I love when Guy tries to have a conversation with Millie and her friends as they try to watch their favorite show. You can just sense his frustration at their lack of individuality and absolutely understand why it leads him to do what he does. I love the ending.

If you've never read this book you absolutely should. It is a classic.